March 2026 - Work Party

 The first Sunday in the month falls on 1st this time so Happy St David's day and the native daffodils are in flower at just the right time.

Native daffodils 

There is a slight lack of photos as I was off site for a while collecting some trees grown by the Suffolk Tree Warden Network to plant near the new shelter to screen it from the path.

The sheets needed cutting to fit around the trees which was a bit fiddly but the roof was put on an screwed down by the end of the session. Here's a few pictures of the process and final building.

The view out from bench

There was some other work going on as well. We have been dividing and spreading the snowdrops bulbs for quite a few years and the display just keeps getting bigger and better. This year was no exception and now the that they have finished flowering, the larger clumps were lifted and divided and next year the snowdrops will be flowering in even more of the wood. 

New  clumps planted.

Dividing the snowdrops 

There has been some carpet stored at the top of the woodland since we used to use it to protect the grass at the Halloween event. We took the opportunity to move it to the entrance so that it can be collected and removed at the upcoming litter pick.

 Some logs that had fallen into the ditch were put back on to the bank so that the water can move unimpeded once more. 

It was good to see some signs of spring, like these newly emerged honeysuckle, leaves. We managed to miss the forecast rain, well done everyone the shelter looks great. 

February 2026 - Work Party

 

Snowdrops in the woodland.

There wasn't a work party in January as the weather was particularly cold on the Sunday that we were due to meet and there was no urgent work that needed doing. We are all volunteers and there is no need to work in uncomfortable conditions. 

The woodland is still very wet but we managed to have a dry morning and enough volunteers to start on building a shelter, a project that we have been discussing for a very long time. First, the site meeting for Glenn to explain the plan and to allow everyone to have an input.

The timber was reclaimed from a barn that was taken down nearby. The building stood for about 60 years so it is pretty old and the planks are huge so goodness knows how old the tree was that they came from. The planks, which are still in good condition, were bolted to existing ash trees so the shape is somewhat rustic, in keeping with the woodland environment.

The following photos show the progress of construction, and that we did use a level just in case there is any doubt! One more tree was removed as it was in the way and the others were left to grow. They are all ash trees and have a short lifespan due to ash dieback so it was not thought to be detrimental.

The window going in

Refreshments on the new bench

Makeshift coffee table

The end result of the mornings work. There are some ends to be trimmed and next month we hope to get the roof on and maybe another bench made. 

There isn't much that can be done with this boggy bit of the path at the lower end of the woodland without digging it right out but it's a woodland in the countryside in the winter so we will have to live with it. I did dig the ditch out to help the water flow away much as possible.

The snowdrops are looking good and I am particularly pleased with the ones that we moved last spring to extend the display further into the woodland. The grasses and brambles were cleared so that they can be seen at their very best.

Before...

After clearing.

Update- on Wednesday, Richard and Neil returned to tidy up the ends of the timber and now it is ready for the roof to go on, on 1st March (weather permitting!)

Photo credits this month to Flossie, Richard, Charlotte